As the hardy ones who sat out on the patio with cool temperatures and cloudy skies we buttoned our down vests and waited for the next golfers to appear at this year’s AT&T Pro Am Golf Tournament. First, a golf ball landed in the sand trap in front of us and then a marshal made his way through the rough and placed an orange flag by the ball in the trap. Uh, oh . . .someone’s in trouble. Then, making his way towards the trap to check out the location of the ball was Ray Romano. Ray is slight of build and not nearly as tall as he appears on his TV show. As he looked at the golf ball he saw it was wedged close to a rock. I can imagine what he was saying to himself since there was no way he could hit that ball where it was located. Getting the nod that it was OK to move the rock, he tried, but the stubborn rock would not budge. He looked around and a fellow hurried over and helped him move the rock.

Ray walking around the sand trap to his ballRay getting some help moving the rock

He took his shot. Ohhhh . . . into the sand again. As he diagnosed the situation he realized he needed to walk all around the sand trap in order to enter leaving the least amount of tracks for his caddy to rake over. As he walked right past us he glanced our way and I gave a silent wave. He said, “I’ll get out of here eventually.” Little did he know at the time how challenging it would be.

He wasn’t about to land in the sand again so this next time he swung with determination . . . this time his ball sailed over the green, hit a tree high and his ball fell into a heavy rough. Sometimes you just have a bad hole! Luckily Eric Compton, his pro partner, had a better score on the hole. No need for Ray to go on suffering. The marshal picked up his ball from the very deep grass and handed it to Ray. As the group left the hole, we waved to Ray and hoped his next hole would be so much better in the 2013 AT&T Pro Am Golf Tournament.

The AT&T Pro Am Golf tournament took place in Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula from Monday February 4th through Sunday February 10th. Practice rounds began on Monday. A Charity Shootout between the San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco 49ers attracted crowds on Tuesday ending in another indignity for the 49ers. On Wednesday golf enthusiasts could view the 3M Celebrity Challenge with the likes of Andy Garcia, Huey Lewis, and Ray Romano vying to support their chosen charities. (More about Ray Romano in my next entry.) The actual tournament began on Thursday morning and took place through Sunday in Pebble Beach on three golf courses – Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill, and the newly redesigned Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course. It’s on the latter course that I ended up with a front row seat to view the tournament play today!

Heidi Ueberroth taking her putt on the 7th green.

As Alain Pinel realtors we are lucky to represent many of the finest luxury properties on the Monterey Peninsula. Currently listed by one of my associates is a dramatically positioned home on Cormorant Road front and center on the Shore Course 7th green with wide open views of the golf course and crashing surf beyond. A group of us gathered to watch the play not more than 10 feet from the sand trap where a number of golfers’ balls landed. First group up after I sat down included Brandt Snedeker, a pro, and Heidi Ueberroth, one of the few women playing in the tournament, who is president of global marketing partnerships and international business operations at the NBA (National Basketball Assoc). She is also the daughter of Peter Ueberroth, ex-commissioner of Major League Baseball and one of the owners of the Pebble Beach Company. Watching this group play out the hole was uneventful, but the next group was quite entertaining. What was significant about seeing Brandt Snedeker up close and personal is the fact that he ended up winning the tournament!